The present invention relates to inflating and deflating valves and, in particular, to those used in connection with inflatable articles.
For inflation and deflation purposes, all inflatable articles, and particularly rubber boats, are provided with a valve that is normally assembled on a perforated wall of the rubber article by compressing a seal or gasket between the valve wall and an underlying washer, and this in order to provide for valve sealing on the rubber article.
These valves have the disadvantage of frequent leakages from said compressible seal or gasket. Furthermore, valves hitherto known form a hard member which is inserted in a delicate flexible inflatable article, thus establishing a location for possible failure all about the valve.
In order to avoid these disadvantages and provide the advantages to be set forth hereinbelow, a new type of valve has been designed, the valve being coated with rubber of the like so that it can be directly vulcanized on the inflatable article. According to a first embodiment of the invention, the valve can also be provided with a plug, one end of which is so provided that it can act as a deflation member by inserting and fastening within the valve body.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, the closure member of the valve is provided with two tabs or projections spaced apart from each other and perpendicularly orientated with respect to the plane of the closure member. When the valve is at its closed position these projections penetrate into the inner valve body without interfering at all with the valve operation. On the other hand, when said closure member is depressed and rotated along with said projections, the latter will bear on the brace or spokes supporting and guiding the closure member pin, whereby the valve remains in an open position.
The valve will be closed again when the closure member with its projections are rotated again so as to penetrate into an inner portion of the valve.
According to a further improvement of the invention, to thoroughly avoid that when exposed to maximum or highest pressure a valve may undergo a slight ovalization as a result of traction forces developed within the inflated article, so that a rather faulty sealing of the external plug might possibly occur, it is contemplated that the metal valve body should be nearly completely incorporated within the valve, said body acting as a reinforcement for said rubber portion of the valve. Thus, the cylindrical metal valve body will extend substantially the full length of the valve structure, the body being completely incorporated within the rubber or the like, thereby increasing both the contacting surface between the rubber or the like and the metal -- so as to produce greater adherence to said metal valve body -- and resistance against possible ovalization.
It should now be noted that the embodiments herein disclosed can be coated with rubber or any other material which can be cured or vulcanized or otherwise sealed to the flexible material forming the inflatable article. Just for the sake of brevity, only rubber and vulcanization will be hereinafter mentioned in connection with the sealing process being used.
The primary advantages attained by the valve of the present invention are as follows:
a. The particular type of rubber used for this valve has all of the inherent advantages of this material, that is, it has good tensile strength; moreover, it possesses great resistance to tearing, abrasion and permanent deformation, and to extremes of weather; it also has particularly good sea water resistance.
b. Rubber, or the like, forming the external coating enables vulcanization or sealing to the inflatable article, thereby providing a very good sealing at the junction between valve and article.
c. The softness of the coating used and rounded shape provided for the valve do not impair at all the inflatable article, creating a harder and stiffer location than all the remaining part of the article, thus avoiding damages to the neighboring parts of the valve when the article is disassembled, collapsed or stored.
d. The valve made of soft material and having a reduced projection outwardly of the inflatable article, particularly boat, substantially minimizes any possibility of abrasion or bruise to the article users.
e. The possibility of totally and also partly deflating the inflatable article in an extremely simple manner by the proper plug tongue or by a simple finger pressure and subsequent rotation. Furthermore, in case of prolonged sun exposure, to reduce the inner pressure it will be sufficient to exert a slight finger pressure on the inner plunger.
f. Simplicity of construction.
Other and further objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be understood by reference to the following specification in conjunction with the annexed drawing, wherein like parts have been given like numbers.